The tide has turned for Sunny. He has another actioner in the upcoming Jatt and has reteamed with Rajkumar Santoshi after almost three decades for the Aamir Khan produced Lahore 1947.
Today's Hindi film mothers are younger, trendier, more mischievous. But, truth be told, says Dinesh Raheja, I still do miss sometimes the comforting presence of the trad mother.
'I stood in the line for potty. So there was no extraordinary feeling that I had become a hero.'
Dinesh Raheja looks back at Manoj Kumar's brilliant 1964 thriller Woh Kaun Thi, and explains just what made it an audio-visual treat.
'Earlier, the comedy track used to run parallel to the main story with songs et al.' 'Nowadays, it's just once one scene here and there.'
'I didn't like doing jhatak-mataks. I would subconsciously start feeling, 'Oh my God, my makeup man and my driver will be watching this.''
'K Asifsaab was very definite that 'woh Hindustan ka honewala Badshah hai -- woh gana nahin gayega.'
The ethereal Hema Malini turns 75 on October 16, and gives us yet another reason to celebrate her.
Zeenat Aman had scored more hit songs than any of her contemporaries. This can be attributed partly to happenstance and partly to the fact that her forte for high glamour could be showcased most winningly in a crowd-pleasing number, observes Dinesh Raheja.
Somehow no producer found the right project that would justify casting these two selective stars with each other.
'Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor and I were inseparable while we struggled together.' 'When a disillusioned Dharmendra was packing his bags to return home, I prevailed upon him to give himself two months.' 'Five days later, he was signed for Shola Aur Shabnam and I signed Picnic.'
'Reena stayed in the next building. We fell in love but had to meet secretly because her parents didn't approve of me.' 'I would always be afraid that her parents would get her married off to somebody else.'
These six male megastars have formed popular pairs with two starkly different leading ladies. Dinesh Raheja compares and contrasts the chemistry between the onscreen couples, and asks you, dear reader, to vote for your favourite jodi.
'Everything in life is about timing.' 'I came to films when the disco craze had started.' Everything just fell into place: The shorts, the slimness, the songs, and my combination with Usha Uthup and Bappi Lahiri.'
Amitabh Bachchan: 'Success didn't affect me at all.' Rajesh Khanna: 'I felt next to God!'
When you are in love, you are preoccupied just with that.' 'Nothing else registers. It's like being drugged.'
'There was a kind of disagreement with Subhashji after Meri Jung and unfortunately for me, I did not get to work with him again after that.'
At many stages, it has appeared as though Sunny Deol's career was running out of steam, but each time he has risen Phoenix-like from the ashes. Dinesh Raheja gives us a closer look at the man on his 67th birthday on October 19.
'At one time, I felt being a mother was the ultimate experience, a woman was not complete without it.' 'Now I feel it's not the be all and end all. Motherhood is a part of a jigsaw puzzle; life is the real big picture.'
Rajesh Khanna: 'When I saw Namak Haram at a trial at Liberty cinema, I knew my time was up.' I told Hrishida, "Here is the superstar of tomorrow".'
'If I got more work, I would do even more! Recently, I did the Tanishq ad.' 'I keep working because I am fit. I love acting, that is my relaxation.'
Though Zanjeer is credited as Amitabh's breakthrough film, it didn't immediately enthrone him. Rajesh Khanna countered with a huge hit in Daag that year. But Deewar upended audience's cinematic taste and filmland hierarchies at the very start of 1975. Bachchan emerged as a one man industry, the angry young man who could regulate the thermostat of the entire film industry, recalls Dinesh Raheja.
Dinesh Raheja views Raj Kapoor's cinema through his women, while celebrating his birth centenary on December 14.
Dinesh Raheja tips his hat to his favourite Raj Kapoor movie, as we continue celebrating the legend's birth centenary.
Dinesh Raheja salutes a man who lived his life like his last movie, Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
Dinesh Raheja salutes a man who lived his life like his last movie, Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
'He treated stars and assistants with the same unfailing courtesy.'
Shailendra's songs were attuned to Raj Kapoor's explorations of the themes and dreams of the Everyman.
'Despite his recent resurgence (Listen... Amaya and Lahore for which he won a National Award as Best Supporting Actor), Farooque stayed away from the rat race,' says Dinesh Raheja. 'And to think that in Sai Paranjpye's Katha, he ironically reprised the famous ambitious hare of the Hare and Tortoise story.'
Waheeda Rehman reveals some lesser known facts about Guru Dutt's Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam in an interview excerpt from Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam: The Original Screenplay.
We bring you an excerpt from the book Kaagaz Ke Phool: The Original Screenplay written by Dinesh Raheja and Jitendra Kothari.
Within his short lifespan of 63 years, Raj Kapoor left behind an incredible cinematic legacy. Dinesh Raheja continues celebrating Raj Kapoor's birth centenary by looking at seven sequences from his films that have defined Hindi cinema.
From their first meeting to the last, Dev Anand etched himself on Dinesh Raheja's heart and mind.
We look back at the life and times of iconic actor Pran.
Known for his explosive batting in the middle order, his quick glove work behind the stumps, and most recently his exceptional work as a commentator, DK's transition into the LLC marks a new chapter in his career
Dinesh Raheja looks back at the yesteryear actress, who enthralled us in films like Woh Kaun Thi and Mera Saaya.
Mehmood and R D Burman shiver, wail and flail when they encounter a stuffed tiger that wags its tail, furniture that moves on its own volition and dancing skeletons and mummies. Dinesh Raheja revisits a must-watch.
None of Amjad Khan's subsequent roles could outshine Sholay. He had begun his career at the top and had no higher peaks left to conquer. Dinesh Raheja salutes the iconic actor on his 80th birth anniversary.
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